Qatar’s Emir to visit Syria as new government begins transition

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will visit Damascus on Thursday, Al Jazeera reported, as Syria’s new interim government begins a political transition following the ousting of President Bashar Assad last year.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

In January, a U.S. official and a senior diplomat said Qatar planned to help finance a sharp increase in public sector wages pledged by Syria’s new government.

Qatar, a longtime supporter of the armed uprising against Assad, has been lobbying Washington for a sanctions exemption to allow it to provide funding through official channels, according to the U.S. official and diplomat.

Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was declared president for a transitional phase on Wednesday and was empowered to form a temporary legislative council.

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani visited Damascus earlier in January.

At a news conference Thursday in Damascus, Thani said Qatar would supply Syria with 200 megawatts of electricity and planned to gradually increase the supply.

In December, Qatar said it would reopen its embassy in Damascus after more than 13 years, a week after Assad was removed from power.

Qatar closed its embassy in July 2011 after withdrawing its ambassador in protest of Assad’s deadly crackdown on demonstrators, violence that spiraled into a 13-year civil war.

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